By Max Anderson
Adelaide got interested in food in the 1970s, when its migrant Asian and Mediterranean populations said ‘enough of this Anglo rubbish, let’s cook some proper stuff’. They gathered up the sensational seafood that had been hitherto spurned, set up some pavement tables, and found it all went very nicely indeed with the weather and nascent wine industry.
The city has never looked back. Neither will you.
Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit’s vibrant Rabbit Bowl, with tuna sashimi, rice, cucumber, pickled cabbage, miso, edamame and charred corn.Credit: Isaac Rudd
Adelaide’s happiest cafe
Go deep enough down the Hindley Street rabbit hole and you emerge in the new (and increasingly energised) university precinct. Peter Rabbit has got it exactly right, combining earthy upcycling with an urban garden and happy service. And the menu is a winner. Don’t go past the Rabbit Bowl, with quinoa, sweet potato, nashi pear and kohlrabi kimchi – all crowned with a gooey duck egg. They do a great Bloody Mary, too.
234-244 Hindley Street, Adelaide. No phone. peterabbit.com.au
Adelaide Central Market
Rumbling bellies are spoiled for choice at this iconic marketplace.Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission/Julian Cebo
World’s-your-oyster food-fest
This 19th-century institution is not only home to South Australia’s finest growers and producers, it’s also a hub of kitchens serving up some of the city’s most interesting, affordable and international food. Try Cumbia for a bit of South American sizzle, including kingfish ceviche in citrus juice with aji amarillo and herbs; Le Souk for six-hour cooked lamb on Adelaide’s fluffiest couscous; and SiSea for Spanish-inspired dishes, including a manchego omelette. And of course, there’s Lucia’s, serving pasta since 1957 and almost as beloved as the market itself.
44-60 Gouger Street, Adelaide. adelaidecentralmarket.com.au
Parwana Afghan Kitchen
Homely Afghan dishes in a vibrant setting.Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission
Afghan food made for sharing
When Parwana opened its doors in 2009, Adelaide fell in love with the Ayubi family, their story and a centuries-old cuisine. “We believe that even loss and suffering can forge beauty and generosity,” states the website, and this ethos infuses the spirit of the restaurant. A visit to Parwana, painted in rich hues of blue, red, yellow and peach, is always an occasion – not least when sharing plates like karayee morgh (pan-fried chicken pieces, marinated in yoghurt and coated with traditional spices) and narenj palaw (rice with candied orange peel, slivered almonds and pistachios) begin to fill the table.
124B Henley Beach Road, Torrensville. Phone: 08 8843 9001. parwana.com.au
Africola Canteen
One of Adelaide’s finest does takeaway
Duncan Welgemoed’s restaurant Africola is still one of Adelaide’s hottest tickets, but if it’s booked out (again) make tracks for the takeaway canteen in Norwood, which is open daily from 11am to 7pm. Here, Welgemoed’s modern pan-African flavours are present in a slew of exciting, flavoursome salads. The pared-back menu also has some seasonal ‘not salad’ items (like dhal and glazed meatloaf) and a single sweet. Prices are refreshingly grounded, ranging from $10 to $24.
Shop 1/89 The Parade, Norwood. Phone: 08 7073 2717. africolacanteen.com
Plant 4 Bowden
Local makers, growers, artists and musicians unite at Plant 4 Bowden.Credit: David Cann
Industrial-strength, culinary coolness in a revamped former factory
The old Clipsal Factory on the north-west edge of the city is now a cool hub for food trucks, pop-ups and stallholders selling crafts and clothes. Culinary highlights include The Lost Loaf bakery by former Magill Estate pastry chef Emma Shearer (her sourdoughs are all made by hand after a 36-hour fermentation); Taiwanese-inspired creations from Joe Dumpling; home-style Pakistani cuisine; and My Grandma Ben, a cafe with a focus on sustainability, community and brilliant breakfasts.
5 Third Street, Bowden. Phone: 0415 064 950. plant4bowden.com.au
Pirate Life
A brewery with a flaming grill
Back in 2018, Pirate Life brought some swash and buckle to a series of heritage-listed woolsheds in Port Adelaide, converting them to a brewery with tours, lots of street art and a food truck. Post-COVID, they reinvented the kitchen with a substantial five-metre-long firepit grill, which feeds the menu as much as it entertains the crowds. Pair your craft beer with a scotch fillet, a cheeseburger made with Mayura wagyu, or squid with yuzu kosho.
18 Baker Street, Port Adelaide. Phone: 08 8317 2111. piratelife.com.au
Restaurant Botanic
A meal at Restaurant Botanic lives up to the hype.
Wild dining in the city’s garden
Two years after this longstanding fine-diner got a modern Australian rebrand, everyone is still talking about it. Is it the lush location in the 51-hectare Adelaide Botanic Gardens? The philosophy of chef Justin James, who aims to evoke those surroundings in 20-plus dishes on the tasting menu? The wild ingredients – including green ants, camel hump lardo and bunya bunya branches? Or perhaps the four hours (“minimum”) recommended for dining? All we can say for sure is: be prepared to splurge, let your belt out a notch and enjoy the experience.
Plane Tree Drive, Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide. Phone: 08 8223 3526. restaurantbotanic.com.au
Shobosho
Smoky yakitori at Shobosho.
Earnest chefs make yakitori-inspired magic with “smoke, steam and fire”
Japanese restaurant Shobosho, on reliably lovely Leigh Street, goes from strength to strength. The blond-wood interiors have a stark intensity that pairs well with the open grill, where earnest chefs make magic with “smoke, steam and fire”. The menu is inspired by traditional yakitori, but also incorporates a rotisserie and wood-fired oven. Highlight dishes include barbecued corn; skewered barbecued kimchi pork; quail karaage; and wood-grilled snake beans with roasted peanuts and crisp chilli sauce. Nat’s What I Reckon says this spot is a “f**king ripper”: the ultimate endorsement.
17 Leigh Street, Adelaide. Phone: 08 8366 2224. shobosho.com.au
Cafe Troppo
Locals flock to Troppo every morning for the cracking breakfast menu comprising seasonal produce.Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission
Feel-good breakfast hero
Cafe Troppo is a breakfast champ, with an emphasis on local produce and sustainability. Note the lovely herb and citrus plantings on the street, and the fab interior made from repurposed materials (the cafe has connections to the Adelaide architecture firm of the same name). Locals can exchange home-grown produce from their gardens for coffee, so you might find a nearby resident’s chilli in the signature chilli eggs – scrambled eggs with fresh herbs and chilli, dill aioli, sweet and spicy pickled carrot, and purple slaw.
42 Whitmore Square, Adelaide. Phone: 08 8211 8812. cafetroppoadelaide.com
Golden Boy
Slick, modern Thai with a nifty feed-me option
This Thai diner is located in a historic building with cool interiors (think leather booths and palm-frond wallpaper) and plenty of outdoor seating in the leafy pavement area. The aesthetic is Instagram-friendly, but the food is just as slick, with modern twists on traditional Thai ingredients and dishes. There’s vegan larp with toasted sticky rice; son-in-law eggs with tamarind caramel; deep-fried soft-shell crab with scud chilli; and char-grilled pumpkin with peanut satay and seaweed crips. Or simply let the staff surprise you with the feed-me Tuk Tuk menu, which is great for groups and can be adapted for various dietary requirements.
309 North Terrace, Adelaide. Phone: 08 8227 0799. golden-boy.com.au
Eleven
French dining experience par excellence
Eleven, in the heart of the CBD, is the love child of Masterchef’s Callum Hann and nutritionist Themis Chryssidis. This fine diner – with a chic, black-accented interior – has a modern Australian menu inspired by French cooking. There’s a truffle toastie; beef tartare with nori, sesame oil and confit yolk; fondant potatoes; and, for dessert, creme brulee with thyme and lemon. To get you in the mood, start with champagne or Aussie bubbles in the adjacent open-air bar.
11 Waymouth Street, Adelaide. Phone: 08 7008 0222. elevenadl.com.au
Bread & Bone
Upstairs – complete with lumpy walls and industrial seating and benches.Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission
Great grills, bangin’ burgers
Late-night diner Bread & Bone is located in the cool, buzzing nexus between Peel and Leigh Streets in Adelaide’s CBD. The upper-floor space is all lumpy walls and industrial seating and benches, with a satisfying gloom that’s occasionally lit by flames from the kitchen. There’s an extensive burger menu (including an audacious Wagyu and roasted bone-marrow burger), and wood-grilled eggplant, squid, peri peri chicken and brisket. After you’ve had your fill, head downstairs to look for speakeasy sister bar Maybe Mae.
15 Peel Street, Adelaide. Phone: 08 8231 8535. breadandbone.com.au
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